LONDON, ENGLAND -- Despite an offensive outburst from Guelph's Natalie Achonwa, Canada fell four points short to an undefeated French basketball team at the London 2012 Olympics Wednesday morning.

The teams traded the lead back and forth in the third quarter, with the Canadian women getting within striking distance again in the fourth, but fouls drawn by the French put the game out of reach in the final moments.

Canada lost 64-60, bringing their record at the Olympics to one win and two losses.

Achonwa -- sporting a large bandage on her right knee -- had another big day on the court, this time getting herself on the scoreboard early and often. She grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, and had 14 points and two assists, second only to Shona Thorburn with 17 points and three assists.

Thorburn, the niece of the former University of Guelph women's basketball coach Angela Orton, continued her hot streak as well and provided another offensive spark for Canada.

Achonwa, who led the Canadians in points after the first half, was giving the French all sorts of trouble for most of the game. The talented 19-year-old Notre Dame University player, who joined the national team at 16, forced France into piling up the fouls and made several slick plays under the net.

"I just wanted to attack and try to get some rebounds. It's a tough loss," she said.

"I was just trying to be physical, trying to make everything difficult for them. I think it rattled them a bit, but in the end we didn't play a whole 40 minutes and that's what we've got to do."

France stretched its lead to seven points at four separate times in the game, but each time, the Canadians clawed back. At times, the Canadians had a hard time defending against France's tall, slick-shooting stars, and failed to respond, watching a lot of their own shots bounce off the rim.

Kitchener's Chelsea Aubry, one of the team's veterans, was exasperated that the French squad still seems to have Canada's number. The two nations meet up frequently in international tournaments, but Canada hasn't beaten France since an exhibition match in Toronto in August 2010.

"We've played these kinds of games against France every single time, and unfortunately we haven't come out on top. We thought today we could do it, but we missed too many layups," Aubry said.

"We've just couldn't get over that edge. But you've got to give France credit. They made those big shots when they needed to."

France came into the game undefeated in these Olympics, fresh from an overtime win against Australia Monday. Canada was carrying a 1-1 record after a late run of points helped them beat Great Britain Monday night.

A big crowd made it out for the early game, which started at 9 a.m. local time. It was a loud, largely pro-Canada crowd.

The big, aggressive French squad drew the referee's whistle frequently, giving the Canadians a chance to keep it tight. Thorburn was fouled on a missed three-point shot in the dying seconds of the game, and put two more points on the board.

But it wasn't enough.

Canada plays No. 6-ranked Brazil on Friday and No. 2 Australia on Sunday in the final game of the round-robin at the Olympics. Another win could advance the team into the next round.